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Company & Commercial

Levi Roots - otherwise known as Keith Graham, and famed for his appearance on the BBC programme Dragon's Den - has won his High Court battle in relation to his Reggae Reggae Sauce, but at the cost of revealing that the sauce is not based on a secret family recipe. The judge dismissed both the claimants' claim for breach of confidence and breach of contract.

Intellectual Property

The Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited decision in the Meltwater case, which addresses important questions about the application of copyright law to internet browsing. However, due to the impact of this case on millions of internet users across Europe, the Supreme Court has referred the question of the 'browsing defence' against copyright infringement to the European Court of Justice.

It is rare for an English court to be asked to determine an account of profits in an IP infringement action and even rarer for an account of profits to be determined by the Court of Appeal. A recent Court of Appeal decision, which largely overturned an earlier Patents County Court decision, provides useful guidance on the determination of an account of profits.

The Patents County Court has refused to grant a declaration of ownership of UK and Community unregistered design rights in a bespoke product after the claimed 'commission' was found to be a straightforward supply agreement that did not operate to transfer ownership of rights to the designs.

Tech, Data, Telecoms & Media

The Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited decision in the Meltwater case, which addresses important questions about the application of copyright law to internet browsing. However, due to the impact of this case on millions of internet users across Europe, the Supreme Court has referred the question of the 'browsing defence' against copyright infringement to the European Court of Justice.

Image rights are big business, in some cases doubling an athlete's earning capacity. However, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is understood to be concerned that some sports clubs may be disguising salary as rights payments in order to reduce the tax burden for their players and the club itself. A challenge to rights arrangements could seriously affect cash-strapped football, rugby and cricket clubs in particular.